27/05/2007

Resurrection of English Regional Devolution

When it came to office back in 1997 Tony Blair's government had plans to change the constitution of the whole of the Britain through devolution. Scotland and Wales were to be devolved first, and this was to be followed by devolution to the English regions. The plan came unstuck in 2004 when voters in the northeast of England voted decisively against regional devolution. The northeast was seen as the most likely to vote in favour, when they chose not to it became clear that no other English region would support devolution either.

According to an article in today's edition of the Sunday Herald Gordon Brown intends to resurrect English regional devolution when he becomes Prime Minister.

English regional devolution is a matter of great importance to Brown, because of his fear that his Scottishness might be a handicap in the next Westminster election. A number of English people already wonder why he should be allowed to be Prime Minister with overall responsibility over a number of departments and their policies, when those policies will only affect England and where the departments responsible for his home patch are governed by a different parliament and a different party.

Of course there is no more call for English regional devolution today than there was back in 2004, and no referendum in any region has a chance of producing a vote in favour of devolution. Brown may, therefore, attempt to avoid the need for referenda altogether. England already has Regional Assemblies, statutory bodies where councillors and representatives of public and voluntary organisations meet to discuss things such as regional development. Brown might just decide to "democratise" these bodies, by having their members elected rather than nominated.

Such plans must be resisted

Firstly because Cornwall is part of the South West of England Region, which includes the whole of the southwestern peninsula. Cornwall is a nation that deserves its own parliament, it is an insult to the people of Cornwall to treat them as a minor part of an English region

Secondly because such a scheme would degrade the national status of Wales and Scotland, they would be seen to be on a par with an English region such as the west Midlands rather than nations

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, because England is a nation too. The only way to treat England, Scotland and Wales equally is by creating a parliament for England and not by creating nine English Assemblies.

I'm surprised you're quite so enthusiastic for England to become a independent nation in its own right, Alwyn. One of the main problems for Scotland and Wales is that they share an island with another country that is many times their combined size. This will not cease if each country becomes independent. Indeed, as I argue, it may makes things worse for Wales and Scotland.

We have an opportunity in the EU to design a new patchwork of (what are today called) nation-states, with certain powers passed upwards to the European level and others pushed down to a regional level where they can be exercised more responsively. We can end the massive imbalance in both unions (UK and EU) whereby one/a few member(s) (England/France, Germany, UK) massively outpunch all others. Let's move beyond the old nation-state analysis and look to something that fits the modern world rather better.

Seriously, I will take up arms before people like Normal Mouth sacrifice England at the alter of unionism and the EU. And I honestly think that people like him would rather risk civil war than allow England a decision in how it is governed.

EU fanatics like Normal Mouth are usually reconstructed Commies and they favour things like ID Cards, multiculturalism and statist control (the EU is one big homogenising centralisation). They have to be resisted, with force if necessary, otherwise we will find ourselves living in some dystopian nightmare where all flags save the EU flag are banned.